AUDIO: ROCORI Placed in Soft Lockdown

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Sep 17, 2013 at 10:50 am

COLD SPRING, Minn. (KNSI) - Schools in the ROCORI District were on a brief 'soft lockdown' on Monday afternoon amid reports that a threatening person could be preparing to go to one or more of the district's buildings.

Scott Staska, superintendent of ROCORI Public Schools, sent a message to parents of students in the district shortly after the end of the school day.

Staska says, at 3:15 pm, as buses were preparing to take students home for the day, the district received word that an armed and dangerous person from an outside could be heading to one of their buildings.

At that point, the whereabouts of the person in question were unknown. Staska says the person does have connections to people in one of the school buildings.

Because of the timing, Staska says the campuses were placed in what is called a 'soft lockdown' - meaning, the entrances to the building were locked, not the individual doors within the school buildings.

Members of the Cold Spring Police Department and the Stearns County Sheriff's Office were on hand minutes after the threat was reported.

Shortly after the beginning of the lockdown, Staska says they were informed by authorities that the outside threat was under control, and students could be released.

"The process within the building was completed very professionally and efficiently, and students were secure and safe during the entire situation," Staska says.

Staska also apologized for the slight delay in getting kids on the road after the end of the day.